The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) requires that the total amount of biofuels added to gasoline increase to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Without a thoughtful, effective approach, there could be severe, unintended domestic and international consequences on nature. Speakers Jason Clay and Robin O’Malley will explore the current EISA 2007 mandate for greatly increased bio-energy production; technologies, efficiencies, and private sector support to approach this mandate; and potential effects on land, agriculture, forests, water, and food availability.

Jason Clay, PhD is Senior Vice President for Market Transformation for WWF. He specializes in bringing people together to improve environmentally sensitive practices in agriculture and aquaculture with a goal of creating global standards for producing and using raw materials, particularly in terms of carbon and water. Jason has taught at Harvard and Yale, worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and spent more than 25 years working with human rights and environmental organizations. He is an expert in indigenous people - nation/state conflicts, natural resource management, global trends; Corporate Social Responsibility - reducing social and environmental risks, water and carbon neutrality, value chain management; agriculture and aquaculture; impact assessments of large-scale development projects; and trend analysis - the implications of biofuels, metric-based standards for agriculture and aquaculture, and animal protein consumption.

Robin O'Malley is the Heinz Center’s Director of Program Development. He previously directed the Heinz Center’s Environmental Reporting Program, which published The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: Measuring the Lands, Waters, and Living Resources of the United States. He came to The Heinz Center in November 1997 from the Department of the Interior, where he led U.S. Government efforts to establish a biodiversity information network throughout the Americas. He has served as Chief of Staff for the National Biological Survey, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior, Deputy Science Advisor within the Interior Department, and Associate Director for Natural Resources at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).